Friday, 1 April 2011

Health and safety consultants national register launched

28 March 2011

A national register to help businesses find qualified health and safety consultants has been launched with the backing of the government.

More than 1,600 consultants have signed up to the Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR), which has been created to increase employers’ confidence that they are receiving “good quality, proportionate health and safety advice”.

In order to be eligible, each consultant must belong to a professional body, have a degree-level qualification, at least two years’ experience and have demonstrated a commitment to continuing their professional development.

Launching the register, employment minister Chris Grayling said:

“We have launched an official Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register for those health and safety practitioners who are properly accredited to one of the professional bodies in the industry. Those who do not have the requisite expertise and experience will be excluded from the register, making it easier for employers to access reliable, reputable advice.”

In response to various calls for a single national register specifically for fire risk assessors, various organisations are working to establish an agreed unified competency standard, although progress has been slower than expected. At present, however, there are only separate registers of fire risk assessors run by individual bodies.

OSHCR has been established by a number of professional bodies representing general safety and occupational health consultants, with support from the Health and Safety Executive, in response to the government-commissioned Common Sense Common Safety report into Britain’s health and safety system, which called for improved competence in health and safety advice.